Monday, May 12, 2008

I won't make it there... time for goal setting

On a whim, I decided to check the status of my application for the ING New York City Marathon. International lottery drawings are supposed to take place mid-May, as opposed to U.S. drawings, which happen in June.

This is what I got:

YumKenny228907NOT ACCEPTEDM34TorontoOntarioCanada

Oh well, not this time.

Which means I can now firm up my fall marathon plans. I wrote last week about how the Marine Corps Marathon registration closed minutes after I saw that they only had 1,000 spots left? Well, I was in a little panic when I saw that message so I quickly signed up. Minutes later, the window closed.

So that's it. My fall marathon is the Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 26. Training starts on Jun 22.

Now as for a goal, I'm going to step it up. I've been doing the Pfitzinger 55 mile program (both the 12 and 18 week) but I've been eyeing the 70 mile program. It's a lot of miles but I think I'll have to step it up if I want to get into 3:10 territory. I'm a little worried about 6 days of running a week, which I did in the rampup for Chicago in 2006 and ended up with soreness throughout.

MCM is not really billed as a race where you'll have a good shot at running a PR. It has real hills and parts of DC can be windy. It is a mass race so you have to seed yourself properly or risk the crowds. But that doesn't frighten me. I have to attempt a marathon at BQ pace to get a feel for it so why not try a race you've done before.

4 comments:

Alexandra said...

Just another runner dropping in to say great planning and great running...best wishes as your training continues.

Arcane said...

I know I've told you this before but I really think you can BQ. I'v found the 6 days of running thing to be tough at first but it really started paying dividends in the end. It's important though to treat the recovery days as true recovery days. I ended up working on my turnover and cadence rate on recovery days and found it helped to increase my pace in the other runs. Good luck!

peter said...

Too bad you won't be running the NYCM, that's my fave marathon of the 16 I've done. MCM is a nice consolation prize tho. I think it's suitable for a fast time b/c the hills (Spout Run and in Georgetown) are early and the wind isn't bad unless it's on Haines oint or the 14th Street Bridge. So long as you get ahead of the mass, it's faster than the Pig.

Good luck at the CHC 10K Sunday. That's a very fun race, fast until the last mile (Capitol Hill). Although, they have changed the course this year and I believe the hill now comes in the fifth, not the sixth mile and they run you up the south side of the Capitol instead of the north side on a little out & back, and I think the hill is less steep and shorter on that side (not by much!). They changed the course b/c as you know us Americans are safer now after seven years of the current guy and they thought runners sprinting around the Capitol (on the streets beyond the grounds) in shorts and singlets were too much of a security risk.

yumke said...

Thanks Francis, i'll be qquizzing you more!

Peter, thanks for the tips on the race. Can't wait to race this one. Hopefully the weather is nice